Ocala HR department requests additional funding

Published: Wednesday, February 5, 2014 at 6:34 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, February 5, 2014 at 6:34 p.m.

OCALA -- The city of Ocala's Human Resources Department, faced with increasing union issues, used up its entire $40,000 legal fees budget in the first quarter of the year and has requested an additional $144,000 from general fund reserves to cover attorneys fees that arise between now and Sept. 30, the end of the city's fiscal year.

"We have a number of arbitrations and grievances," Sandra Wilson, the city's chief of staff for support services, told the City Council.

The council voted 4-0 Tuesday to approve the increase. Councilman James Hilty was absent.

The council also approved renewing the contract with Wayne Helsby of Allen, Norton & Blue, P.A., the Coral Gables labor attorney who has represented the city's collective bargaining and other employment law interests since 1997.

"He is the lead negotiator," Wilson said about Helsby.

The city bargains with the police, fire and general employees' unions.

The general employees, the latest group to unionize, are represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1205. The employees voted 203 to 97 in August to unionize after the City Council, faced with rising pension liabilities, reduced the general employees' pension benefits.

The City Council, at its strategic planning meeting in January, set as its top priority for this year the reduction of police and fire pension benefits.

Jared Sorensen, the city's director of human resources and risk management, wrote in an email that several items depleted his legal budget. He wrote that when the budget was being prepared, it was not certain the general employees would vote to join the IBEW. Now that they have, he must bargain and address grievances and arbitrations with three unions.

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Ocala HR department requests additional funding